RESIDENTS in Siaton, Negros Oriental, are still warned against consuming shellfish harvested from Tambobo Bay, with the red tide alert still on pending results of laboratory tests.
Wilmencita Pialogo, head of the Provincial Task Force on Red Tide at the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office, said Monday, August 14, that they took some water samples again but were not able to do an analysis.
Pialogo, a marine biologist, said shellfish meat samples taken from Tambobo Bay last week for bio-assay testing in the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Manila was forwarded only Monday.
She said due to the absence of the test results, the collection of shells from Tambobo Bay is still suspended.
The BFAR declared the red tide alert more than a week ago in Tambobo Bay after higher concentrations of the organism that causes algal bloom were noted.
The specific species of the dino flagellate that was monitored in Tambobo Bay was identified as pyrodinium bahamense, said Pialogo.
It is something “new” in the area, having not seen this kind previously, she added.
Pialogo reported last week that a round of water sampling already showed a decline in the red tide toxicity, but it is only the BFAR who can declare the area safe once more for shellfish gathering once the bio-assay results are out.
Red tide, also known as algal bloom, is believed to have been caused by agricultural run-offs with high concentrations of nitrates and phosphates, said Pialogo. (PNA)